Huskers Picked to Host NCAA First and Second Rounds

Lincoln, Neb. - The Nebraska volleyball team will spend the opening weekend of the postseason at home for the 10th straight season as the Bob Devaney Sports Center was chosen as one of 16 sites for the NCAA first and second-round play next weekend. The Huskers will be making their 32nd NCAA Tournament appearance and they will go in as the No. 8 overall seed among the 64 teams.

Play will start on Friday, Dec. 6 when the Oregon Ducks (19-11) of the Pac-12 Conference will take on the Miami Hurricanes (19-11) of the Atlantic Coast Conference at 4:30 p.m. Nebraska (23-6) will then take the court during Friday’s second match and will face the Fairfield Stags (19-12), who recently won their second consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship title. The Huskers’ match will start at 7 p.m. or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first match.

The second round will take place on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m., as Friday’s winners will compete for the right to move on to the Lincoln Regional the following weekend. The winner out of Lincoln will take on either San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, New Mexico State or Arizona, who will all be playing in San Diego, Calif.

Tickets for the first and second rounds in Lincoln will go on sale on Monday morning at 8 a.m. They will be available on Huskers.com, by calling the NU Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED or visiting the NU Athletic Ticket Office in person. All-session ticket prices are set at $34 (reserved A and B sections) and $30 (C section) and include the two first-round games, as well as the second-round match-up between the first-round winners.

Nebraska has never faced Fairfield. The Huskers Miami have met once, with Nebraska leading the all-time series at 1-0. The Huskers lead the all-time series with Oregon 2-1, but the Ducks ended NU’s NCAA Tournament at the Omaha Regional in 2012.

The 2013 season marks the 29th time that Lincoln has played host to first and second round competition. Last season, Nebraska hosted the first and second rounds at the NU Coliseum, where the Huskers swept UMES in the first round and Northern Iowa in the second round.

Nebraska holds a 23-6 record in 2013 and finished second in the Big Ten Conference. The Huskers are 86-28 (.754) in 31 previous NCAA Tournament appearances, ranking second among NCAA schools in both wins and winning percentage. Nebraska was one of eight Big Ten schools to qualify for the tournament.